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Economic Assistance Law for the Encouragement of Torah Scholars and Needy Students, 5777-2016

חוק סיוע כלכלי לעידוד לומדי תורה וסטודנטים נזקקים, התשע"ז–2016

Published: 2017-01-01Last amended 2017-01-01✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-09
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More

This English text was translated from the official Hebrew using a range of translation tools, and it undergoes ongoing checks and updates. It is not a certified translation.

Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.

The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.

This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.

Purpose§

1.

The purpose of this Law is to encourage Torah scholars and needy students in their studies by means of the provision of economic assistance in accordance with the criteria prescribed in this Law with respect to Torah scholars, and in accordance with the provisions of the Council for Higher Education Law, 5718-1958, and the discretion of the Council for Higher Education, as defined in that Law, with respect to students.

Definitions§

2.

In this Law –

"apartment" – as defined in the Sale (Apartments) Law, 5733-1973;

"income" – income from the sources listed in section 2 of the Income Tax Ordinance [New Version], even if produced, accrued, or received outside Israel, excluding support given to a Torah scholar by the kollel, and including –

(1)a benefit as defined in the National Insurance Law, excluding a child allowance paid pursuant to Section B of Chapter IV and excluding a benefit in respect of a disabled child paid pursuant to Section F of Chapter IX of that Law;
(2)a benefit under the Income Support Law, 5741-1980;
(3)a scholarship paid to a Torah scholar by reason of his being a researcher at a Torah research institute; for this purpose, "Torah research institute" and "scholarship" – as defined in section 9(29) of the Income Tax Ordinance [New Version];

"National Insurance Law" – the National Insurance Law, 5755-1995;

"Security Service Law" – the Security Service Law [Consolidated Version], 5746-1986;

"kollel", "full-day kollel" and "half-day kollel" – as their meaning in the support criteria;

"Torah scholar" – an Israeli citizen or resident of Israel who studies in a full-day kollel or in two half-day kollelim, at a scope of hours as set out below, as the case may be:

(1)if a service deferral order has been issued in respect of him under section 22b or 26r of the Security Service Law – at a scope of not less than the scope of hours required under section 26w(a)(1) of that Law (in this paragraph – the required scope), and if he is undergoing designated vocational training as referred to in section 26m of the Security Service Law – at a scope of not less than the required scope reduced by the number of hours during which he is undergoing designated vocational training and at most reduced by 15 hours per week;
(2)if a service deferral order as referred to in paragraph (1) has not been issued in respect of him –
(a)if he studies in a full-day kollel – at a scope of not less than 35 weekly hours;
(b)if he studies in two half-day kollelim – at a scope of not less than 40 weekly hours;

"support criteria" – criteria for the distribution of funds for the purpose of support by the Ministry of Education in Torah institutions – study and activities, which the Minister has prescribed by virtue of his authority under section 3a of the Budget Foundations Law, 5745-1985;

Support criteria for the distribution of funds for the purpose of support by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport in public institutions – support for Torah study and special activities for Torah institutions were published (Reshumot 5764, 3498).

"minor" – as its meaning in the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law, 5722-1962;

"the Minister" – the Minister of Education.

Entitlement of a Torah Scholar to Receive Economic Assistance§

3.
(a)A Torah scholar shall be entitled to receive economic assistance in accordance with the provisions of this Law if all of the following conditions are fulfilled in respect of him (in this Law – an entitled Torah scholar):
(1)the Torah scholar has in his custody at least three minor children;
(2)the Torah scholar, his partner and their minor children do not have ownership of an apartment, other than one apartment serving as a residence, and do not have ownership of land whose value exceeds NIS 36,000, and an apartment or land as aforesaid was not in their ownership during the year preceding the submission of the application for economic assistance under section 4;
(3)the Torah scholar, his partner and their minor children do not have ownership of a motor vehicle whose value exceeds NIS 25,000 or such other amount as shall be prescribed by Regulations, and do not hold shares in a company; for this purpose –

"owner of a motor vehicle" – including a person who drives the motor vehicle as an owner even if he is not registered as its owner;

"motor vehicle" – as defined in the Traffic Ordinance [New Version], excluding a vehicle serving the Torah scholar's disabled child who has been determined to be entitled to mobility under the National Insurance Law, and excluding a vehicle serving the Torah scholar, his partner, their parents or their children for the purpose of receiving medical treatment provided outside their home, pursuant to a treatment plan determined in advance or at least six times a month, over a period of at least three months;

(4)the aggregate income of the Torah scholar and his partner, together (in this section – joint income), does not exceed NIS 14,400 per year.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a)(4), a Torah scholar in respect of whom the conditions set out in paragraphs (1) to (3) of that subsection are fulfilled shall be entitled to receive economic assistance in accordance with the provisions of this Law even if the aggregate joint income exceeds NIS 14,400 per year, provided that it does not exceed NIS 30,000 per year, however he shall be entitled to receive economic assistance as aforesaid only in respect of the months in which the joint income does not exceed NIS 1,200 per month.

Application for Economic Assistance§

4.

An application for economic assistance under this Law shall be submitted to the Ministry of Education, once a year, no later than the date directed by the Minister or a person authorised by the Minister for that purpose.

Amount of Economic Assistance for Torah Scholars§

5.
(a)In this section, "the annual budget" – the annual budget designated for the provision of economic assistance to entitled Torah scholars as determined in the annual budget law within the meaning of the Budget Foundations Law, 5745-1985.
(b)The annual amount of economic assistance for the provision of assistance to entitled Torah scholars shall be determined in the annual budget law.
(c)The monthly amount of economic assistance to be paid to an entitled Torah scholar under this Law shall be NIS 1,040.
(d)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c), if in a given year the number of entitled Torah scholars who have submitted an application for economic assistance has increased and it is therefore not possible to provide, in that year, monthly economic assistance to every entitled Torah scholar in the amount stated in that subsection while remaining within the annual budget framework, each of the entitled Torah scholars shall, in that year, be provided with a reduced, uniform monthly economic assistance amount, which shall be calculated in accordance with the budget framework as aforesaid.

Assistance for Students§

6.

The annual budget to be determined for Torah scholars as referred to in section 5 shall not exceed 82% of the budget of the Assistance Fund in Grants and Loans for Students in Institutions of Higher Education, operating by virtue of section 25b of the Council for Higher Education Law, 5718-1958, in a manner that ensures that the budget of the Fund is higher by at least 21% than the amount of assistance determined under section 4(b).

Period of Entitlement of a Torah Scholar to Receive Economic Assistance§

7.

Economic assistance under this Law shall be provided to an entitled Torah scholar for a period of five years from the date in respect of which he first began to receive the economic assistance as aforesaid.

Set-off§

8.
(a)The Ministry of Education shall set off against the amount of economic assistance due to an entitled Torah scholar under this Law any amount paid to him unlawfully.
(b)Nothing in the provisions of subsection (a) shall derogate from other collection measures that the State is authorised to take under any law for the purpose of collecting the amount paid to an entitled Torah scholar unlawfully.

Implementation and Regulations§

9.

The Minister is responsible for the implementation of this Law and may, with the consent of the Minister of Finance and with the approval of the Finance Committee of the Knesset, make Regulations on any matter relating to its implementation.

Amendment of Kollel Study Hour Scopes§

10.

The Minister, with the consent of the Minister of Finance and with the approval of the Finance Committee of the Knesset, may, by Order, amend the scopes of study hours specified in paragraph (2) of the definition of "Torah scholar", as the case may be.

Commencement and Transitional Provisions§

11.
(a)This Law shall commence on the 3rd of Tevet 5777 (1 January 2017) (hereinafter – the commencement date).
(b)The following periods shall be deducted from the maximum period of entitlement as referred to in section 7:
(1)the period during which the Torah scholar received an allowance or scholarship from the Ministry of Education during the period from the 25th of Tevet 5771 (1 January 2011) to the 19th of Tevet 5776 (31 December 2015);
(2)the period from the 20th of Tevet 5776 (1 January 2016) to the commencement date.
(c)A Torah scholar whose period of entitlement under section 7 ended during the period from the commencement date to the 16th of Tevet 5781 (31 December 2020) (in this subsection – the transitional period), by reason of the period during which he received an allowance or scholarship having been taken into account pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b)(1), shall be entitled to receive monthly economic assistance in an amount equal to the budget for financing the transitional provision, to be divided among all the Torah scholars entitled to economic assistance under this subsection in that budget year divided by twelve, and in any event not more than NIS 1,040 per month, provided that he meets the conditions of entitlement under this Law; in this subsection, "budget for financing the transitional provision" – an amount to be determined, out of the amount to be determined under section 5(b), in respect of each of the years 2017 to 2020.

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